MS-900 Practice Question: Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365
This MS-900 practice question tests your understanding of describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in microsoft 365. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A compliance officer needs to automatically detect when employees share customers' personal data (e.g., social security numbers) via email and block such sharing. Which Microsoft Purview solution should they configure?
DLP policies scan emails for sensitive data and can automatically block the message from being sent, with notifications to the user and administrator.
B
Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management
Why wrong: This solution identifies risky user behavior (e.g., unusual data downloads) but does not directly block sharing of specific data types in real time.
C
Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance
Why wrong: Communication Compliance monitors communications for policy violations like offensive language, not for specific data types like SSNs.
D
Microsoft Purview Audit
Why wrong: Audit logs user and admin activities for investigation but does not proactively detect or block sensitive data sharing.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is the correct solution because it is specifically designed to identify, monitor, and automatically protect sensitive data—such as social security numbers—across Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online. DLP policies can be configured with conditions that detect sensitive information types (e.g., U.S. Social Security Number) in email messages and apply actions like blocking the email from being sent. This directly meets the compliance officer's requirement to automatically detect and block sharing of customers' personal data via email.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Why this is correct
DLP policies scan emails for sensitive data and can automatically block the message from being sent, with notifications to the user and administrator.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management
Why it's wrong here
This solution identifies risky user behavior (e.g., unusual data downloads) but does not directly block sharing of specific data types in real time.
✗
Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance
Why it's wrong here
Communication Compliance monitors communications for policy violations like offensive language, not for specific data types like SSNs.
✗
Microsoft Purview Audit
Why it's wrong here
Audit logs user and admin activities for investigation but does not proactively detect or block sensitive data sharing.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse Communication Compliance (which reviews communications for policy violations) with DLP (which actively blocks sensitive data), leading them to select option C because they think 'compliance' implies blocking, but Communication Compliance only detects and flags, not blocks.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Under the hood, Microsoft Purview DLP uses deep content analysis via the Microsoft 365 classification engine, which matches patterns (e.g., regex for SSNs) and can apply transport rules in Exchange Online to block emails at the SMTP level before delivery. A subtle behavior is that DLP policies can be configured with 'override' options, allowing users to justify the sharing or report a false positive, which must be carefully managed to avoid bypassing the block. In a real-world scenario, a DLP policy can be set to block emails containing SSNs sent to external recipients while allowing internal sharing with a business justification, ensuring compliance without disrupting legitimate workflows.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A cloud solutions architect for a retail company is evaluating services for a new workload. The correct answer here reflects best practice for the specific scenario described — not a general cloud recommendation. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Cloud exam questions reward reading the constraint carefully: the same technology can be right or wrong depending on the use case.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this MS-900 question in full detail.
Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 — This question tests Describe security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365 — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) — Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is the correct solution because it is specifically designed to identify, monitor, and automatically protect sensitive data—such as social security numbers—across Microsoft 365 services, including Exchange Online. DLP policies can be configured with conditions that detect sensitive information types (e.g., U.S. Social Security Number) in email messages and apply actions like blocking the email from being sent. This directly meets the compliance officer's requirement to automatically detect and block sharing of customers' personal data via email.
What should I do if I get this MS-900 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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